A Call For Help
by theonlyxception
Summary: April loses a man while on duty and has a hard time dealing with it, but luckily she has more than a few people that care. 9x6 Episode Tag "Drop Zone".
1. Nerves

"April." Alex called out as they passed in different directions on the stairs leading to headquarters "I heard what happened yesterday. How are you doing?"

"I'm alright." Shrugging, April tapped the sunscreen bottle against her hand. "Work is keeping me busy."

"Have you given any more thought to the counseling we discussed last week?"

April nodded hesitantly. "I actually have a session later on today."

Alex didn't look totally convinced, but went with it. "Okay, good."

"I should get back."

"Go. We'll talk later." Waving her off, she watched as April disappeared around the building, before heading in.

"Alex."

"Mitch."

He put the pot back into the machine. "You look like you've just encountered someone causing trouble. Coffee?"

"No, thanks." She paused in between collecting her thoughts. "I just had a talk with April."

"I bet that was fun." Mitch took a sip. "I saw her walk out of here but haven't gotten a chance to speak with her since she came back."

"Yeah...well, I know it can't be easy for her being back here, and having everyone ask how she's doing. I can't help but notice that she seems to be avoiding us and everyone else here at Baywatch as much as possible.

"It's her first day back. She probably just needs time to adjust and get back on her feet. So if that means that we have to act like everything's normal, then that might be the way to go."

Alex closed her eyes momentarily. "You're probably right. I can't stop thinking about the day I found her crying hysterically in the shower. I listened to her blame herself over and over again, and then had to literally had to drag her out of here when you brought his wife in."

"She was pretty upset when I had to break the news. Probably just as upset as the wife was."

"April did say she had an appointment later on today, but I think she's going to keep blaming herself until she gets help."

"Which you already suggested. April is smart, we just have to believe that she'll make the right decision." He mentioned, feeling her doubts about the situation.

* * *

April scanned the beach with her binoculars, as she sat up on the tower. She couldn't help but smile as she watched two young girls building their own versions of sandcastles, while their mothers soaked up the sun. Another mom was at the water's edge with her son, both splashing each other back and forth. And then there was a man that looked like he was getting ready to swim a marathon as he paced himself in the water.

She knew by now not to discount anything and kept an eye on everyone, especially those who were in the water, or were getting in. It only took a few minutes to get in trouble and drown, no matter if the water was choppy or not.

Focusing, she scanned over the beach again and felt quite satisfied that things were okay there. Then she scanned over the water again, which turned out to be quite lively in most places. More people were out in the water now than a few minutes before-which made it harder to keep an eye on everyone-at least she wasn't the only one watching out for the beachgoers.

Her stomach fluttered slightly as she no longer saw the man swimming in the water. Her first instinct was that he had gotten out, but when she saw him floating face down in the water, she absently pulled the phone off the hook and grabbed the rescue can.

All the many hours of experience kicked in as she ran across the sand and dove into the water; steadily pacing herself until she had reached the man. As she was heading back, Mitch had dove in and met her halfway, taking the man from her so she could swim in.

"He's not breathing." April called out, keeping two fingers underneath his chin and blew in two deep breaths, while Mitch got in position to start chest compressions.

"1...2….3….4...5…"

"Ambulance is on their way." Alex appeared beside her. "What do you need?"

"We might need the defibrillator." Mitch offered as soon as he was finished with the compressions. April took over checking for any signs of the man breathing on his own; when she found that he wasn't, she gave him two more breaths.

"Come on." April pleaded quietly, counting the compressions in her head as he went along, while Alex fired up the defibrillator.

"Clear." He took the paddles after they had charged and gave him an electric jolt.

"Still nothing." April called out, giving him another couple breaths.

"Charging to two fifty." Another jolt and the man coughed up a small amount of water; his face still pale, but some color was returning slowly as help arrived.

"What happened?" The man inquired hoarsely, trying to catch his breath. "One minute I was out swimming in the ocean and now I'm lying here on the beach." He looked from Mitch to Alex, then up to April.

"I found you unconscious in the water and since you weren't breathing, we had to use CPR and the defibrillator to get you back."

"The defibrillator?" He pointed to the machine sitting off to the side, then groaned already knowing the answer.

"I think you're going to be okay." Alex chimed in, noticing April's discomfort with how close this situation had been to the last one; the only exception being that she had actually rescued the guy and brought him back to life.

"Thank you."

"In here guys." Alex ushered the EMT's in, which allowed April to step back and take in a few heaving breaths.

"Why don't you take a break?" Mitch broke through her thoughts as the EMT's loaded the man onto the stretcher.

April looked at her watch and sighed tiredly. "Can't. I have an appointment in about an hour."

Mitch nodded a few times, folding his arms across his chest. "I heard about that." when she didn't go on, he motioned. "I know it's probably not something that you want to do, but it's something that we all have to do at some point."

"I know."

"You wouldn't want to be late." He nodded farther down the beach. "Just make sure you have the paperwork on my desk when you come in tomorrow morning." She nodded and disappeared down the beach; to her relief, Alex noticed that for the second time this week.

* * *

As she reached for her keys, April was a bit startled seeing when she saw an unexpected figure standing by her apartment door. "Daniel, what are you doing here?"

"Don't you remember? We have reservations at Providence tonight." He reminded her gently as she slid the key into the lock.

"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "Work has been crazy lately and I-"

"You forgot." He guessed, finishing her thoughts and they walked into the quaint but cozy apartment.

April rubbed at her eyebrow in irritation as she set her purse down onto the couch. "I'm sorry. What time is the reservation at Providence?"

"Six." At that, her expression crumbled as she sat down on the couch. "Did something happen at work today that you want to tell me about?"

Her eyes were full of guilt as he sat down beside her. "Nothing happened today."

"April."

"Today, I saved a man."

"That's good." His momentary happiness faded, seeing her lips quivering. That's not good?"

"No...it is." Her eyes were full of unshed tears. "I just never thought I would lose someone, or think about how I would react."

There was a look of confusion as he wiped the stray tear running down her cheek with his thumb. "You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened."

The room fell silent for several minutes, before she gained the courage to continue. "Alex wants me to get counseling."

"Your boss?"

"Yeah. Well she's one of them anyway." She scrubbed at her face, a hint of fear filling her expression. "I don't think I can go."

"You don't think you can? Or you don't want to?" Taking her hand, he squeezed it lightly- mostly in effort to let her know that he was here for her. "What time is your appointment?"

She sighed deeply. "Six."

There was a thoughtful pause as he kissed the side of her head. "Tell you what-why don't you get dressed for dinner and I'll see if I can push the reservations to seven. We'll have a nice dinner and then we can talk about this some more." Reluctantly she moved her tired body off the couch, feeling more worn then just a few minutes ago.

She stifled a yawn as she went into the bedroom without another word. When she returned, she was wearing a sleeveless blue dress.

"You look beautiful." His eyes traveled up and down her body, a smile gracing his lips.

"Thank you." She offered softly. "Did you get the reservations changed?"

He nodded, wrapping his arms around her waist. "They'll seat us at seven."

"Let me just grab my sweater and we can go." He caught her hand, bringing her back into the comfort of his arms. They stayed that way for several minutes as she closed her eyes and yawned.

"What's with all this yawning business?" He joked lightly, in effort to try and lighten the mood, but it was followed with silence. When he looked over at her, it was clear that she hadn't been listening. "April."

"Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind."

"I know. Want to talk about it?"

"No." She shook her head forcefully. "We should probably get going or I'm going to be late."

* * *

When they arrived, they stepped into a nice wood paneled waiting room that was neatly decorated. A white couch and coffee table lined with magazines, had been situated near the corner of the room, while a play area had been centered in front of the directly in front of the receptionist's desk.

"Nice place." Daniel looked around as they caught the attention of the receptionist, who according to her name tag in bold lettering, her name was Jenny.

"Hello. What can I do for you?"

She grasped the edge of the desk, trying to keep her nerves intact as she spoke to the receptionist. "My name is April Giminski. I have an appointment with Dr. Powers."

With a couple clicks on the keyboard, Jenny confirmed her appointment. "It looks like you've never been here before, so I'm going to have you fill this out." Jenny handed her a clipboard full of papers. "And then you should be called back in about fifteen minutes."

"Thank you."

Grasping the clipboard, both April and Daniel settled into the waiting room chairs. "Ah, the dreaded paperwork."

"Yeah."

"So this counseling thing...is it a mandatory thing you have to do before you go back to work?"

"I don't think it's required, but I'm sure Alex could get it to be recommended."

"Right." He leaned back in his chair, knowing she wasn't much in the mood to talk. "Wouldn't want to tick off the boss." The room grew silent, other than the phone ringing every once in awhile and they caught a few words here and there about people wanting to make appointments, or asking about what services they provided here at Dr. Power's office.

After a few more minutes, April quietly got up and slid the clipboard back to the other side of the desk and returned to her seat with a sigh.

"I still don't know about this."

"You said it yourself. . . Alex could make this something you'd have to do before returning back to work. You might as well get it over with now, so you don't have to come back again later."

"April?"

"I'll be waiting right here." Daniel squeezed her hand gently as she got up and greeted the blonde haired, middle aged woman at the door.

"Hi April, I'm Dr. Powers."

"It's nice to meet you."

"You look all dressed up and beautiful tonight.." Dr. Powers smiled brightly, leading April into her office and gestured for her to sit down on her couch.

"Thanks."

"Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" Dr. Powers began as they got settled in. April shrugged, not really knowing what to say. "Or tell what made you become a lifeguard?"

"Alex told you I was coming, didn't she?"

"She told me that you might be coming in, yes. Although she didn't tell me specifically what was going on."

"I've always liked helping people, ever since I was little. My parents got me into early swimming classes and they couldn't get me out of the water after that."

"All great reasons to become a lifeguard then." Dr. Powers smiled before scribbling something on the pad of paper in her lap, which only heightened April's nervousness. "What I'm writing on this paper, will not be shared with anyone else." Dr. Powers straightened in her chair. "The only time that I can break confidentiality, is if I find that you're going to hard yourself or someone else. I can't even tell Alex what we talk about in here."

"How long have you known each other?"

"An acquaintance introduced us. I guess you can say that we've kept in contact ever since then. I'm guessing the man outside is more than a friend?"

The corner of her lips turned up at the mention of Daniel. "Boyfriend."

Dr. Powers scribbled down more information. "How long have you two been dating?"

"Almost a year." April paused. "Do you have a bathroom I can use?"

"You know, it's okay to be nervous." Dr. Powers reassured her, resting her pen and paper on her lap.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Seeing the color drain out of April's face, she quickly instructed, "There's a side hall as you come in. First door on your left."

"Thanks." Hurrying out, she quickly found it, closing the door behind her. But when she emerged a few minutes later, she had a look of misery on her expression as she returned back into Dr. Power's office.

"Feeling any better?"

"Not really." April brushed the hair out of her face and sat back down. "I'm sure it's just nerves."

"I haven't met one person that likes therapy at first." Dr. Powers mentioned, earning a slight smile that fell quickly as April held her stomach. "Tell you what . . . Why don't we reschedule for another day when you're feeling better?"

"I'd rather get it over with now." Just as she mentioned that, her stomach lurched forward again and the color drained from her face again as she ran out of the room. The door closed with a louder than usual thud and when she returned, April seemed to agree with Dr. Powers. "Later will be just fine."

Dr. Powers nodded. "Go home and get some rest April and make an appointment when you feel better."

Nodding, April sighed and walked back out to the waiting room. "That was quick." Daniel stood abruptly from where he was flipping through a magazine."You okay?"

"Not really." She offered dully as he wrapped his arm around her.

"You're shaking."

April nodded, rubbing at her arms. "I ran to the bathroom twice during my session with Dr. Powers."

"Nerves?"

"I thought so at first. I wanted to continue the session, but after I ran to the bathroom the second time, Dr. Powers thought it would be best to reschedule my session. She told me to call and make another appointment after I felt better."

"Smart lady." He kept one hand to steady her as they walked out the door, then ended up looping his arm through hers. "We'd better get you home."

"What about dinner? I don't want to mess that up for us-"

"I'm pretty sure dinner can wait." When he realized that she wasn't convinced, he stopped abruptly, pulling her back with him. "April, you've been through a plane crash and now this. You've got to allow yourself time to recover."

"I wish I could." She thought out loud as they began walking to the car again.

"Just a few more steps." Daniel encouraged her as they gazed at his car still down the sidewalk; with every step, she looked more drained of color.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the doctor? You look like you're about to fall over."

She shot him an irritated look as he finally helped her into the car. "No. I want to go home-sleep off whatever this is-so maybe I can face work tomorrow."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Closing the door, he hopped into the driver's side. "I mean. . . what if this is something serious, April?"

"Let's just go back to my place and see if there's anything we need to worry about." She offered tiredly, letting her seat belt click into place.


	2. Unsettling Thoughts

When April woke up the next morning, she stretched out on the bed; her eyes opening to a golden morning flow as she thought about the night. At one point, she stretched her hand out to the other side of the bed and caught a glance at the clock.

Her eyes widened at the fact that it was now 8 o'clock and she had exactly an hour before she had to report to work. As she had been a bit under the weather the night before, she had forgotten to set her alarm.

She groaned, hopping out of bed and gathering some clothes to wear before taking a quick shower. When she walked into the kitchen, she was now wearing a maroon shirt and jeans; her hair still wet and wavy as she padded in to find her shoes and keys.

"I thought I heard you up." Daniel mentioned, scooping some eggs onto a plate. "Hungry? I made eggs."

"Yeah." April answered, partially distracted as she looked around the living room. "Did you see where I put my keys?"

"They're probably still in your bag by the door. Are you planning on going somewhere?"

"I didn't call anyone to cover for me." Her expression lit up slightly as she found her keys at the bottom of her bag. "You know you didn't have to stay." Her gaze fell towards the blanket hanging off the couch.

He walked over and kissed her forehead, as if he were checking to see if she was sporting a fever. "I wanted to."

"Like I said before. . . I really think it was just nerves."

"So what made you nervous about going?"

April shrugged lightly as they returned to the kitchen. "I've just never been one to talk about my feelings."

"Now that's true."

She glared at him, then couldn't resist smiling at his boyish grin. "I guess I got it from my dad. He never did like talking about things, which always made it difficult to hold a conversation with him."

"Do you really think it's a good idea to go in today?"

"Did you miss the part where I said that I didn't have anyone to cover my shift? Besides, I've already taken off a couple times in the last week; first when Alex told me take some time off, and now when I had to take off early to go to my appointment-which I now have to take more time off for." She cupped her hand against the side of her face, as if she were shielding her eyes from the sun, or warding off a headache.

"Hey, look at me." He called softly as she slowly met his gaze. "I have no doubt that you're going to make it through this. I am going to be here for you every step of the way. You have your friends and family to lean on and everyone at Baywatch. No one blames you for what happened."

He knew that he had said the wrong thing when her expression grew darker. "His pregnant wife does. You know what the sad thing is? She didn't even get to tell him that she was having their baby."

"Look at me." He called firmly, which got her to meet his gaze again. "What happened is not your fault. I'm sure you did everything you could to save that man, so that he could go back to his wife, but it didn't work out that way."

April shook her head, fighting back the tears. "I could have tried harder. I shouldn't have let him get back into the water-"

"Shh...come here." Scooting the stool closer to hers, he pulled her into his lap, holding her close and allowing her to cry all the emotions she had been holding inside.

"I think my eggs are cold." She quipped after settling down a little.

"Want me to heat them up?"

"No, I should get to work, or I'm going to be late." She looked at her watch and sat up slowly, wiping at her tears. "Thank you for breakfast."

"Of course." He lovingly kissed the top of her forehead as she finished the rest of her cold eggs and stuck her plate in the sink.

"I'm going to clean up and head to work in a little while. I should be home around six-probably no later than six-thirty."

She reached into the fridge to grab a few things for her lunch. "I'll be home around six, or maybe earlier. It all depends on how busy it is today."

"I know you can't take it too easy, but try not to overdo it today." He mentioned as she zipped up her lunch box, she found her shoes and strapped her bag over her shoulder."I love you."

She wiped at her red, puffy eyes. "I love you too."

* * *

With five minutes to spare, April walked into the locker room, where JD and Cody were discussing an upcoming race. She put on her best smile for them and just in case anyone else decided to walk through that door, like Mitch or Alex.

"You're on. When's the race?" Cody inquired, lathering some sunscreen on his left arm.

"Tuesday." JD chimed in, giving April a morning greeting. "Hey, April. Got anything planned for this weekend?"

"Not unless the two of you are planning on inviting me to that race on Tuesday."

Cody shrugged at JD. "Why not? The more the merrier."

"Then I would love to." Shoving her bag into the locker, she grabbed a few things from her locker. "I'll see you guys out there." Almost running into Mitch and Alex on the way out, she greeted them with a quick hello in passing.

"April. Got that paperwork for me?"

"I'll have it on your desk by the end of my shift." She told Mitch, before rushing out. According to her watch, she was already a couple minutes late for her shift and the beach was already filling with excited beach dwellers.

By the time that she had reached tower fourteen, April had enough time to clear some of her thoughts away. Not long after, a little boy walked over to her tower, looking quite lost and confused.

"Hi, my name is April. What's yours?"

"Zane." He looked up abruptly from searching the beach. "You're a lifeguard."

"I am. You must come to the beach a lot to know that."

Zane nodded. "Mostly with my sister, but today my mom and dad were not working, so they came too."

"That sounds like fun. Is that who you were with?" She scanned the beach for anyone who might have been searching for a little boy. So far, no luck.

"She's six. . . six. I can't say it." He looked disappointed as he stared at his bare feet that were buried in the sand. "I'm only four."

"That's okay. Is your sister sixteen?"

Yeah! You know how to count?"

"I learned how to count when I was just a little older than you were. My mom taught me and I helped teach my little brother."

"Really? How old were you?"

"Five, was when I really learned how to count. When I was about ten, was when I taught my little brother."

"Oh. My sister never teaches me how to count." Shrugging, he wiggled his toes out from underneath the sand.

She leaned her hands against her knees, so she was at his level. "Maybe your mom could teach you? Or even your dad would probably teach you." He gave a tight-lipped shake of his head. "Have you ever asked them to teach you?"

"No."

In the distance, she spotted a yellow truck driving slowly down the beach. "Hey Zane? Have you ever ridden in a lifeguard truck?"

* * *

Parking in her usual spot, she could hardly keep the queasiness down. Although it hadn't been plaguing her all day, she hadn't much of an appetite and had opted to leave her lunch in the fridge-heading to the pier instead to take a much needed break- before returning back to work.

She figured out now that skipping lunch, definitely the wrong idea as her stomach lurched forward. It took another few minutes for her to catch her breath, before she was able to walk up the stairs to her apartment. As she slid her key into the lock, she kicked off her shoes and walked into the kitchen-instead of letting sleep outweigh her need for food.

The pan, spatula and cutting board that was used that morning, were now in the drainer beside the sink. The counter that had been meticulously cleaned, put a much needed smile on her face. It was just the way that she liked it, and she was thankful that she had someone who knew her so well.

So when he walked through the door carrying a bag of groceries, she was reassured that she had picked the right man. "Good you're awake. How was work?"

"Today was pretty uneventful." Stretching her legs out onto the couch, she watched as he unloaded the bag of groceries. " There were a lot of minor rescues: a couple of teenagers that were playing around and went too far into the water, a little boy that got separated from his family on the beach, people trying to sneak beer in with their belongings. What's for dinner?"

"My mom's famous chicken noodle soup." He pulled out a big pan from the cabinet. "Did I ever tell you about the time my friends snuck beer onto the beach?"

April shook her head, hand now resting on her stomach. "I think you must have left that part out when we met."

"Trust me, it wasn't really that memorable. One of my friends, who unfortunately could swim to save his life, was goofing around and ended up falling into the water. Thankfully my parents had made me take swimming lessons since the age of seven, so I was able to dive in after him and pull him out of the water. Since it was one of the more dangerous areas of the beach, I still remember my subtle and touching words to him-"

"I can only imagine."

"Yeah. . . remind me to kill you if we get out of this." He minced vegetables as he went on. "Thankfully, he promised to sober up after that. I think he even learned how to swim, if I remember correctly. How's your stomach?"

"Honestly, I felt a little nauseous on my way home. Now that I'm off my feet, I'm feeling a bit better."

"Good. You can stay there until I'm finished. And I hate to tell you I told you so, but will you think about staying home tomorrow?"

"If I can get someone to cover for me." April settled back down into the couch, letting her eyes close. "I probably just need some food in me and some sleep."

"You rest. I'll let you know when dinner is ready?"

* * *

"April." Daniel gently shook her awake. "Here sit up. It'll help you wake up faster."

"Mmm… That smells delicious. How come you've never made this before?"

"I've never had the need to. You've never been sick."

"Neither have you." She pulled the tray into her lap, smiling as she saw a small vase of flowers resting above her bowl. "The flowers give the tray a nice touch."

"I'm glad you think so."

Talking had been replaced with silence and silver spoons scraping against the bowl. Just when she had finished half of her soup, was when her stomach lurched forward. A few drops of soup landed on the tray as she set it down abruptly on the coffee table and ran for the bathroom.

When she came back a few minutes later, she had an apologetic glance as she sat back down next to him. "Feeling better?"

Nodding, she picked up her soup. "I'm just going to put this in the fridge for later. I think I have a phone call to make." Patting his knee, she got up with a sigh; put the bowl in the fridge and walked into the bedroom.

When she had found the found she had needed from her address book, she waited for someone to answer on the other end.

"Hello?"

"JD, it's April."

"Hey April. What's going on?"

"I have a favor to ask. I know that you're not working tomorrow, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind covering for me?"

"Sure. What's going on?"

"I'm just a little under the weather, that's all. I think I need a day to rest and do nothing, and I'm not sure that I would be any help being there tomorrow."

"So that's where you were. I was wondering where you were today. Of course, so were Alex and Jesse."

"Yeah, I ended up at the pier for my break, and went back to work afterwards." Curling her legs into her a body, a thought ran through her mind if she should have told him that. Now she would have to find somewhere else to go when she needed to think.

"Do you need me to bring anything by?"

"No." She offered a little too quickly. "I mean. . . I actually have someone that's taking care of me, but thanks for the offer."

"Sure. Let me know if there's anything that I can do. You should probably also call Mitch or Alex and give them a head's up that you won't be in tomorrow."

"I will. I'm hoping that it's nothing other than some kind of 24-hour bug." April chimed in hopefully. As they ended their conversation, she had some unsettling thoughts as she laid her head back against her pillow.


	3. A Story to Tell

This chapter is so much shorter than the other two. After I finished writing it, the chapter just felt complete.

* * *

"JD." Alex greeted as they walked down the stairs to headquarters. "Aren't you usually off on Tuesdays?"

"April called me last night and asked if I'd take her shift. She said something about a 24-hour bug. I take it she didn't call you?"

"I went running and then I was home for the rest of the night." Alex groaned. "I knew there was something going on yesterday, especially when she didn't show up for her break."

"I think she just needed time to think." She glanced over at him as he held his hands up in surrender. "Her words, not mine."

"Thanks JD." Returning back to headquarters, Alex sat down behind her desk. For a moment, she contemplated not calling, but knew she was responsible for taking care of all the lifeguards here at Baywatch, especially when she knew something wasn't right.

_Hi, you've reached April Giminski… I'm not here right now. Leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can._

"There's that look again." Mitch offered as she hung up the phone. He was standing in front of her desk, with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Did April tell you she wasn't coming in today?"

Resting his hand against the desk, she peeked at the paper in his hand. "I've barely been in my office all morning, so I haven't had time to check my messages yet. If you're that worried, you should go."

"Excuse me?"

"You know you're not going to stop worrying until you know she's okay. So go. I'll take care of things until you get back."

"That's actually the best idea I've heard all day." "Instead of arguing with him, she grabbed her bag off her desk. He looked stunned that they weren't actually not arguing about something. "I'll let you know what happens."

* * *

Having looked at the address many times, Alex stood in front of apartment twenty-four. She knocked once, listening for any response. Nothing. As she knocked again, April finally opened the door, dressed in blue pajama pants and a long sleeved t-shirt. "Let me guess, you forgot your keys again? Alex, what are you doing here?"

"Who forgot their keys?" Alex inquired, looking slightly confused as she stood at the door.

"My boyfriend." April stuttered, opening the door wider so she could enter. "Sometimes he forgets his keys to my apartment and I usually find him waiting outside." She followed her into the kitchen, where eggs were cooking on the stove.

"How long have you been together?"

"Almost a year." Flipping the eggs in the pan, April added. "We broke up for awhile and just recently decided that we would try again."

"Sometimes it takes a break to know what you're missing."

"Don't I know it." April pressed her lips together, while thinking about her first impression of Alex; headstrong, tough and had a hard edge to her manners. As the weeks flew by, April learned that underneath it all was a woman who held a good sense of humor and was very protective of those around her. "I guess JD told you I wasn't feeling well?"

"He did. "Said you might have the 24 hour bug that's going around." Alex nodded, ruffling through her purse and pulled out a rather large bottle of Pepto Bismol and set it on the counter. "Thought you could use this."

"Thanks. You really didn't have to do all this." A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. Her voice was hoarse as she read the directions on the back of the bottle. "This medication may interact with other medications. Well good thing I don't take any other medications."

"That's always a plus."

"If it gets me back to work sooner, I'll take it." Taking the seal off, she poured the recommended amount and swallowed. "I forgot this stuff tastes like chalk."

"Maybe what you're feeling, is your body's way of saying slow down." Standing up from her chair, Alex leaned against the counter.

"Maybe."

"As lifeguards, we often forget that we're only human and can only handle so much."

"How do you do it?"

"I run. . . read a book, talk to a friend. Anything that might get me out of the house for a little while." April nodded at what she had listed off and became a little uncomfortable as Alex then asked her. "What about you?"

"I like to cook, but most of the time my boyfriend does the cooking. I also like to swim. I know, very unoriginal since I'm a lifeguard."

"You do what makes you happy." Alex said in understanding, then reluctantly looked down at her watch. "Speaking of that. . . I should probably be thinking of getting back."

When they had stopped just short of the door, Alex turned back around. "You know, I may be your boss, but I'm always here if you need to talk." Her expression was serious, yet the whole thing seemed to be just what she needed to hear.

April nodded and they said their goodbyes. As the resounding click of the lock on the door echoed down the hall, a man holding groceries passed Alex on the way to the stairs. By the time she had rounded the corner, her curiosity had peaked and she watched the man entered the same apartment that she had just come out of.

* * *

"You never told me how things went this morning." Mitch inquired later on that afternoon as he and Alex drove down the sandy beach. They were driving slow enough that people had time to get out of the way. What they weren't expecting was a rolling beach ball to fly in front of their truck, followed by a young boy who didn't see the slow moving, yellow Baywatch truck.

The boy looked no older than seven years old; when he looked over, he looked stunned and yet thankful that he hadn't been run over as Mitch had stepped on the brakes in plenty of time.

"It went better than I expected it to go." Alex shook her head at the situation as they watched the boy run back up the beach to join his friends. "I don't see anyone watching them, do you?"

"Wait for it. . .there!" Mitch combed over the beach; finally pointing to a mess of dark brown hair peeking out from behind the young boys, who now in an excited frenzy, were now trying to keep the ball from touching the sand. When they moved aside, the teenager was now sprawled in the sand, locking lips with a blonde haired girl.

Alex sighed. "It's all making sense now." She kept an eye out on the beach. "Drive on. For all we know, someone could be drowning out in the ocean."

He took the brake off and they began to drive down the beach again."You're making it sound like drowning isn't a daily occurrence."

"All I'm saying is that there are more important things happening on the beach. He may not want to be there with his little brother, but there have been people who have left their children to come down here by themselves."

"Whether they have someone with them or not, that's a classic reason to how they become drowning victims in the first place." By the time they had finished discussing, they had reached tower thirteen.

"JD."

"Hey, Mitch. Alex." JD greeted, leaning his arm against the open truck window. "Have either of you seen someone walking around in a black hoodie?"

"No. Why do you ask?" Alex inquired, leaning forward in her seat.

"I had a couple come up to me that said they saw someone in a black hoodie walking around their belongings earlier. When they came back from swimming, that's when they realized that one of their towels, a blanket and some sunglasses were missing.

"Huh. This couple. . . did they get a description?"

"Only that this person was tall, and the jacket looked to be too big on whoever was wearing it."

"Sounds like we're looking for a beach bandit."

"Alex and I will keep an eye out-maybe talk to a few other people around the beach and let the others know what's going on. Let us know if you hear anything else."

"I will." JD lowered his voice, throwing his question to Alex. "Speaking of that-have you heard anything about April? I've tried calling her a few times, but she hasn't been answering her phone."

"She's pretty sick with this twenty-four hour stomach bug, but yet she's still hanging on after all she's been through lately. I told her that maybe that was a sign that she needed a break."

"Yeah, really. She's one of the toughest people that I've ever met, besides Jessie. First the plane crash, the rescue and now this."

"I heard about that-the plane crash. If I'm remembering right, she wasn't injured, but was the reason everyone in first class was rescued."

"One being a pregnant lady, who had gone into labor after they had crashed." Mitch chimed in. "I can't imagine if she had given birth right then and there-how we would have gotten the baby out of there if she had."

"Thankfully they had made it to the hospital, just in time for the doctor to deliver the baby. It turns out the lady was really grateful and named her baby after April."

"So she had a girl then?" Alex confirmed.

"A very healthy baby girl." Mitch nodded adamantly.

"I'll have to ask her about that some time." Her tone hinted that it would be quite some time before she would try to find out all the details. It had only been about six months since the plane crash had happened. Definitely not enough time to let it all sink in.

"I can only imagine when she gets older that she'll have a very interesting story to tell." Mitch smiled, grasping the steering wheel again. JD stepped away from the truck. "I'll let you know if I hear anything else on that beach bandit."


End file.
